Trump Effect? 26/11 Mastermind Hafiz Saeed Under House Arrest

In a very interesting development, Pakistan has placed Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed placed under house arrest on Monday. Hafiz Saeed, one of the extremist co-founders of Lashkar-e-Taiba has been regarded as the culprit behind the deadly Mumbai attacks of 2008.

Pakistan has also ordered house arrest of four other alleged terrorists – Abdur Rehman Abid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdullah Ubaid and Qazi Kashif Niaz.

This surprise development can be due to significant and continued pressure from India. It is also a stop towards easing tensions with India. India has been demanding arrest of Hafiz and ban on JuD.

In a release, the JuD stated that the Pakistan Punjab Home department issued a house detention order against Hafiz. The Lahore police have acted on it and moved to JuD headquarters in Chauburji arrest him.

Saeed was at Masjid-e-Qadsia Chauburji and police has taken him to house arrest.

Many political analysts have termed this action as a result of pressure from the US President Donald Trump to act against terror. It is also believed that the US has threatened Pakistan of various sanctions if it fails to act against Saeed.